Bouncing back after spaying?

[Irina]

Hello! My 5 month old bunny Shadow was spayed today. I am wondering how long it will be for her to be up and about again? I have had two make bunnies neutered, one who bounced around as soon as he got home, and the other who was horribly sick for over one week. As a result of two drastically different recoveries, as well ass the fact that spaying is more invasive than neutering, I don’t know what to expect. She is taking sips of water, and has eaten one piece of hay, but us otherwise lying down on a towel looking sad. I know she will be slow to move around for a while, but don’t know how long? Every rabbit us different, I know, so I am hoping some of you can let me know your experiences with spaying, so I can get an idea what the range of normal is. Thank you in advance! P.S. I am nervous because Butterscotch was sooo sick, I think I will feel better if I know what is reasonable to expect.

[Stickerbunny]

Stickers was :

Day 1 – Looking miserable, sleeping, loafed and not moving.
Day 2 – Took some greens that I hand fed her. Went to the litter box. Mostly stayed loafed not eating much and sleeping a lot though.
Day 3 – She was up, eating salad and tried to binky, causing me to have to calm her down to avoid her pulling out stitches.

After that, she was pretty much back to normal.

[Irina]

Ok. I have a loaf too. Looks miserable. Refusing any food- treats and all. Small sips of water. So sad to see such a normally bouncy bunny be so … Not bouncy.

[MoveDiagonally]

When my last girl was spayed:

Day One (bring home day): She was miserable, in pain, and didn’t want to move or eat. The vet gave her the “24 hour pain shot” but it didn’t seem to be enough for her so we gave her a half dose of the take home pain meds that evening. She perked up a bit and ate a little.

Day Two: Gave pain meds as directed by vet and she really started bouncing back. Eating, drinking, pooping normal.

Day Three and on: She seemed to feel a lot better and was doing everything she normally does. She was fine from then forward.

(( Vibes for Shadow )) I hope she feels better soon.

PS How are your boys doing?

[NewBunnyOwner123]

Day 1- loafed for the most part, nibbling veggies and hay but not too much, left her alone to sleep
Day 2- eating and drinking normally, lounged most of the day but otherwise she seemed fine, bored.
Day 3- “let me out of this cage NOW!”
Day 5- I let her out to finally play in the hallway. Just a boring stretch of empty space to keep from jumping.
Day 7 forward- good as new. Completely healed and back to her usual routine. She HATED the limitations I gave her haha

My female actually recovered more quickly and better than my male. Neither had additional pain meds except that first initial “24 hour shot”

[Irina]

Thanks MD. Shadow seems really uncomfortable. She is struggling to get into her litterbox (6″ high with a log ramp leading in- vet said it would be fine…)- poor thing doesn’t want to do her business outside the box. I just switched it out for a smaller one with one open side. She is drinking very little- but refusing EVERYTHING else- and she normally loves to eat everything. It is so sad to see her like that. I was debating giving her more pain meds- I know they don’t always last 24 hours like they should. So- when I read your post, I gave her an extra half dose. Hopefully it will help. I don’t know if/when I should give her any syringe feeding. I have a packet of Oxbow critical care… Butterscotch became dehydrated and had low blood sugar leading to his siezures- I just don’t want that to happen to Shadow. I will watch her closely and see how she does. I have given her 10mls of water via syringe so far.

Thanks for asking- my boys are great! They are getting along wonderfully- flopping and cuddling and grooming eachother. The best is when they both want the same piece of lettuce (or other treat), even though their bowls are full of more. It is so great to see them together! Thank you for all your help in getting them there! I can’t wait until Shadow can get in there too- but first she needs to get better! Thanks again!

[Stickerbunny]

As long as she eats SOMETHING (even if it’s just a few bites of hay or a piece of lettuce) she will be fine for today. You want her eating by tomorrow though, if she isn’t eating anything tomorrow (it won’t be too much, but she needs to eat something) then ring your vet and let them know and they will give you instructions. And be sure to let her have a month of recovery if you are bonding her with your boys.

[Irina]

NBO123- sounds like she did great!
Stickerbunny- thank you. I know I have to wait 4 weeks before bonding- sad but true! Hopefully she will be in great shape when she has her first dates!

Update- Shadow is now grooming herself, and nibbling a but if hay. I have given her more Oxbow (which she is sucking out if the syringe!) and some more water via syringe- doing better I think!

[Stickerbunny]

Yay good girl eating so soon.

[MoveDiagonally]

Yay!

[Irina]

I thought I posted this yesterday, but apparently not:

Update (Day 2 post spay): Shadow is doing great! Eating pellets, hay, a raisin and a little piece of apple. She is not drinking as much as I would like, and is refusing my syringes of water, so I added a teaspoon of orange juice to 1/4 cup of water and she is now happy to accept it. I think she is doing great! Thanks to all who shared their experiences and offered suggestions! It really helped me to know what to expect.

[Irina]

Update (Day 3 post spay): Shadow is almost back to herself. Still seems a little tired- or bored? She is eating normally and producing lots of poo! I don’t see very much water disappearing from her bowl- but she seems to be peeing… (Perhaps I am
Paranoid?) She is hopping in and out of her litterbox, stretching and flopping like a happy bun!

My question: when can I expand her pen again? She us normally in an 8ftx4ft pen. I made it smaller post spay- 4ftx2ft to limit her movement. That seemed fine for the first two days, but now it just seems cramped (her litter box takes up 1/3 of the pen- it is huge because she like to lie down in it!) I was wondering g when I can give her more room? I was hoping to increase to 4ftx4ft. I won’t have anything in there for her to jump up on… Does that seem reasonable? What have others done?

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